Historian Dennis Copeland speaks on Monterey's Gold Rush days

The mid-19th century was a dynamic period for California. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, functionally ended the Mexican-American War and established provisions for co-existence between citizens of Mexico and of the United States. Meanwhile, gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, upending the economy and social structure of the territory as residents flocked to what would become known as the Golden State. In 1849, Colton Hall in Monterey became the now-historic site for a convention of delegates charged with framing a constitution for California. One year later, California became the 31st state admitted into the Union.

"Never in the history of the world, did a similar convention come together," wrote historian Hubert Howe Bancroft, (1832-1918). "They were there to form a state out of unorganized territory; out of territory only lately wrested from a subjugated people, who were allowed to assist in framing a constitution in conformity with the political views of the conquerors."

These transformative times in California, textured by a confluence of competing interests and the characters who created our history, made for what local historian Dennis Copeland calls a "wild and woolly" period on the Peninsula. Friday evening (Nov. 2), in 21st century Pacific Grove, Copeland will take his audience on a tour of mid-19th century Monterey, when statesmen and fishermen, desperados and vigilantes gave the Wild West its name.

"My talk will be on a topic of long-term interest for me: the amazing and turbulent transition from Mexican — actually, Californio — rule to the American period during the Gold Rush. Wild and woolly it was. And I will have some tales to tell," Copeland said.

The event is being hosted by the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove.

Copeland hails from UC Berkeley and the National Park Service in the Presidio of San Francisco, where he was archivist and historical researcher. Having since served as historical and archival consultant to various organizations, colleges and universities, he is currently the historian, as well as manager of museums, cultural arts and archives, for the city of Monterey.

"For a long time, it was generally accepted that Monterey was pretty much a ghost town in the decades following the Gold Rush, said Jeanne McCombs, special services coordinator for the Monterey Public Library. "I remember reading once that men left Monterey in such numbers (that) it became nothing but a community of women and children. I'm sure Dennis wasn't the only local historian to counter this notion, but he was the first one I heard speak of it."

Copeland is the author of historical research articles focused on local and regional history, including works on Ed Ricketts, Tortilla Flat and early California history. He is co-author of "A Monterey Album: Life by the Bay" (2003) with McCombs, and "Monterey's Waterfront" (2006), a history of the Monterey fishing and canning industries, with Tim Thomas.

Lisa Crawford Watson wrote this article for the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove.